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ENQUIRIES (03) 5229 0004

An update on bus transport and fee information for 2020

On Friday, May 17 enrolments for Geelong’s Catholic Secondary Schools close for 2020. Applications will then be assessed and offer for a place in year seven at Iona will be emailed to families in the last week of this term (between Monday 24 and Friday 28 June).

We would like to thank families for the support that they are showing by choosing our new College as a future destination for their son or daughter. It will be wonderful to confirm the 130 student places at the end of this term and then work towards their transition to us next year. We have never been more confident in our ability to establish a vibrant learning community that I have been after meeting the many families seeking a place at Iona. There are exciting times ahead with a new vision for Catholic Education in the Geelong region.

For your information please see the following as updated statements on two important considerations for future families, namely bus transportation and projected school fees in 2020.

Buses:  Damian has been liaising with the local bus companies and the Department of Education regarding bus access to Iona College in 2020. There is no public transport access to the College as there are no designated bus stops on Horseshoe Bend Road. In the future, there will be improved access as housing development continues.

At this point in time, we will be required to charter bus services to Iona in 2020. A similar charter arrangement exists for St Ignatius College. Chartered bus services will come from Geelong and Torquay/Jan Juc. It is impossible to determine the actual route the bus services will take as this will be dependent on final enrolments. Be assured we will look to establish the best possible service routes to cater to our students. Country students will be required to take a country bus service to Geelong and we will determine a link to an Iona charter bus in due course. For students attending from the Barwon Heads/Ocean Grove areas, we are continuing to work with the bus companies as to how we might establish a bus interchange at the Warralily shops that can then be serviced by an Iona charter bus which ideally will take away the need to for those students to pick up an Iona link bus in Geelong. Whilst some of the costs associated with a charter bus service can be recouped through the conveyancing allowance, the College will need to cover a significant portion of transportation costs. A nominal amount of these costs will be passed on to parents on a ‘user pays’ basis.

Fees: Through the many parent presentations Damian has made, he’s spoken about confirming the final fee level to be charged by the College in 2020. The vast majority of income to the school comes through government funding which is determined by a government assessment of the financial capacity of families to pay fees and levies. This can only be calculated by the government when final enrolments are confirmed, and only then can we confirm a final fee. Simply put, the Commonwealth Government assess parent’s ability to contribute to fees after there is a measure of personal income tax (known as a PIT score). Whilst this data will not be available to us until later in the year, we are very conscious of the need to give families some certainty. We have always committed to keeping fees in line with other Catholic College’s in Geelong and have estimated them to be around $5500 p/a. While we wait for the required data to determine our final fee, for peace of mind and for family financial planning purposes, I want to assure families the total fee charged will not exceed $5900 and will likely fall somewhere between $5500 and $5900.

For anybody that would like to discuss, and details associated with the above information, you can give Damian a call on (03) 5229 0004. At Iona, we will always be willing to work with families on a confidential basis to ensure financial pressures don’t impact on the education of our students.

We look forward to continuing to provide you with updates regarding the progress of both the building and education program as well as providing an introduction to the staff members that will be joining us in 2020 once appointed.

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